GB2158760A

GB2158760A - Electric shaver

Info

Publication number: GB2158760A
Application number: GB08512227A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Robert Marsham Broadway
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1984-05-14
Filing date: 1985-05-14
Publication date: 1985-11-20
Also published as: GB8412234D0; DE3517442A1; GB8512227D0

Abstract

An electric shaver has a housing 12 containing an electric motor 16 and a pair of batteries located on opposite sides of the motor and connected thereto through an on-off switch 50. Detachably secured to the housing is an outer shaving foil and head assembly 72 comprising a body 74 and a foil 86 carried by the body and having a plurality of apertures through which the hair to be shaved can pass. A reciprocable inner cutter blade 90 having cutting edges extending transversely to the path of reciprocation is resiliently urged against the interior of the foil to cut hair extending therethrough when the inner cutter blade holder 88 is reciprocated. The holder 88 is driven by a cutter drive mechanism carried by the motor shaft 30 and comprising eccentric means 32,34 detachably connected to the inner cutter blade holder and operable when the motor is operated to rotate the drive shaft to cause the inner cutter blade 90 to be reciprocated. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electric shaver This invention relates to electric shavers.

Various attempts have been made to provide relatively small electric shavers, that is to say shavers which are readily carried in a pocket or handbag for occasional use, such as when travelling. However, known electric shavers of this kind are not as small or as efficient as desirable, and are also relatively heavy for their size.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electric shaver which is smaller, efficient and light weight.

According to the invention, an electric shaver comprises a housing containing an electric motor and a pair of batteries located on opposite sides of the motor and connected thereto through an on-off switch, an outer shaving foil and head assembly comprising a body detachably secured to the housing and a foil carried by the body and having a plurality of apertures through which hair to be shaved can pass, a reciprocable inner cutter blade assembly located within the body, said inner cutter blade assembly having cutter blades extending transversely to the path of reciprocation and resiliently urged against the interior of the foil to cut hair extending therethrough when the inner cutter blade assembly is reciprocated, and the cutter drive mechanism carried by the motor shaft and comprising eccentric means detachably connected to the inner cutter blade assembly and operable when the motor is operated to rotate the drive shaft to cause the inner cutter blade assembly to be reciprocated without transverse movement thereof.

One embodiment of the invent will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a longitudinal sectional view of an electric shaver.

Referring to the drawing, an electric shaver comprises a housing 12 of plastic or zinc die-cast material. The housing 12 is formed as two separately molded parts, namely a front part and a rear part each with partial side walls, the front and rear parts being securable together in any convenient manner to form the housing 12. The drawing shows the rear housing part 14.

A battery-operated electric motor 16 with integral cutter drive mechanism 18 is located in the medial area of the housing 12. The motor 16 has front and rear cylindrical projections 20, 22 which are positioned between pairs of motor locaters 24, 26 respectively integral with the housing 12. The cutter drive mechanism 18 is integral with the motor shaft 28 which projects upwardly from the motor 16 through the cylindrical projection 20 which acts as a motor bearing. The housing 12 has a pair of walls, 27 which extend forwardly on opposite sides of the motor locaters 24, 26 and are engaged by the front end of the motor 16.

The cutter drive mechanism 18 comprises a drive shaft 30 integral with and of greater diameter than the motor shaft 28, the drive shaft 30 having an enlarged upper end portion 32 and and an eccentrically-positioned pin 34 extending upwardly from the upper end 32 of the drive shaft 30. A spring 31 surrounding the drive shaft 30 acts between the cylindrical projection 30 and a collar 33 loosely surrounding the drive shaft 30 for a purpose to be described later.

The housing 12 has two battery compartments 36, 38 one on each side of the motor 16. The battery compartment 36 contains a strip contact 40 which has an upper end 44 shaped for engagement with a top contact of a first battery and a lower end 46 connected to one terminal of motor 16. The contact 40 is held in assembly with the rear housing part 14 by integral housing bosses 48 which extend through apertures in the contact 40.

The battery compartment 38 is associated with a shaver on-off switch 50 which comprises a manually slidable actuator 52 mounted on one side of the housing 12 for upward and downward sliding movement. The battery compartment 38 contains a strip contact 54 which has a lower end 56 connected to the other terminal of the motor 16, and which has a laterally located leaf contact portion 58 engageable by the switch actuator 52. The strip contact 54 is held is assembly with the rear housing part 14 by integral housing bosses 60 which extend through apertures in the contact 54.

The battery compartment 58 also contains a second contact 62 which is mounted in the housing 14 for engagement with the bottom of a second battery and which has a laterally located leaf control portion 64 engageable by the leaf contact 58 when the switch actuator 52 is moved to the on position.

The drawing shows the actuator 52 in the off position, and it will be readily apparent from the drawing that upward sliding movement of the actuator 52 will depress the leaf contact 58 into engagement with the leaf contact 64.

The housing 14 has a removable battery cover 66 of plastic or zinc die-cast material at its lower end which can be snapped into and out of engage ment with the housing 14. The battery cover 66 carries a strip contact 68 which is held in position by integral bosses 70 extending through apertures in the contact 68. The contact 68 is shaped to engage the ends of the batteries in battery compartments 36, 38 to complete the electrical circuit to the motor 16 via the switch 50.

The shaver also includes a disposable outer shaving foil and head assembly 72 comprising a head 74 of plastic or zinc die-cast material which can be readily snapped into and out of engagement with the housing 14. The head 74 has inward projections 76, 78 on opposite sides which engage under corresponding projections 80 82 respectively on opposite sides of the housing 14, the projection 80 being spring loaded by a spring 84 to provide snapping engagement. An elongated metal shaving foil 86 of arcuate section is non-detachably secured along its lower edges to the shaving head 74 and has a multitude of small apertures through which hair to be cut can pass.

The outer shaving foil and head assembly 72 contains an inner cutter blade holder 88 of self lu bricating plastic material with an arcuate inner metal cutter blade 90 non-detachably mounted on the holder 88, the holder 88 having integral bosses projecting through apertures in the lower edges of the cutter blade 90. The cutter blade 90 is of arcuate shape corresponding to that of the cutter head foil 86 and has a multitude of slots cut in the arcuate shape forming a row of transverse cutting edges for cutting hair projecting through the apertures in the foil 86 when the cutter blade 90 is reciprocated relative thereto.

The eccentric pin 34 of the cutter drive mechanism 18 projects into a slot 92 in the cutter blade holder 88, the slot 92 being transverse to the direction of reciprocation. The inner cutter blade holder 88 has a pair of downwardly-extending spaced arms 94 on opposite sides of the drive shaft upper end 32. The arms 94 are resiliently engaged by the collar 33 such that the cutter blade 90 is resiliently urged upwardly into engagement with the foil 86.

When the motor 16 is switched on by moving the switch actuator 52 to the on position, the drive shaft 30 rotates with corresponding rotation of the eccentrically mounted pin to cause reciprocation of the cutter blade 90. The slot 92 permits movement of the pin 32 in a direction transverse to the path of reciprocation, such that the eccentric movement of the pin 34 only causes reciprocating movement of the cutter blade 90.

After the shaver has been used a few times, the outer shaving foil and head assembly 72 can easily be removed for cleaning or replacement by snapping it out of engagement with the housing 12.

The inner cutter blade 90 and its holder 88 can then be readily disengaged from the cutter drive mechanism 18 as the outer shaving foil and head assembly 72 is removed, with the eccentric pin 34 simply becoming disengaged from the slot 92.

Similarly, a new or cleaned outer foil and head assembly 72 and inner cutter head assembly 88, 90 can readily be assembled with the housing 12, with the pin 34 entering the slot 92 in the inner cutter blade holder 88 of the new or cleaned assembly.

Besides renewing the cutter blades, such replacement also overcomes potential wear problems in the replaced parts, such as a worn slot 92 or worn arms 94. It will also be readily apparent that battery changes can also be easily made.

The drive mechanism 18, which as previously mentioned is an integral part of the motor shaft 28, is compact and enables the disposable cutter head 72 to be readily attached to or detached from the housing 12. The described construction also reduces the possibility of shaved hair entering and damaging the motor 16, because the walls 25, 27 of the housing 12 prevent hair from entering the motor, battery and contact area of the housing, and the forward motor bearing can be designed to resist hair ingress. Further, the described construction is compact and assists in providing an efficient miniature shaver.

When not in use, a transparent cover 93 of plastic material may be snapped into engagement with the cutter head 72.

In an alternative cutter drive mechanism 18, the upper end portion 32 of the drive shaft 30 may be shaped as a cam which is located between and engages a pair of arms extending down- wardly from the cutter blade holder 88, the arms being displaced 90" from the arms 94 shown in the drawing (the arms 94 as shown being omitted). The pin 34 is then located concentrically with respect to the motor shaft 28 and engages in a slot in the cutter blade holder 88 which extends in the direction of the path of reciprocation.

Other advantages and embodiments of the invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An electric shaver comprising a housing containing an electric motor and a pair of batteries located on opposite sides of the motor and connected thereto through an on- off switch, an outer shaving foil and head assembly compri- sing a body detachably secured to the housing and a foil carried by the body and having a plurality of apertures through which the hair to be shaved can pass, a reciprocable inner cutter blade assembly located within the body, said inner cutter blade assembly having cutter blades extending transversely to the path of reciprocation and resiliently urged against the interior of the foil to cut hair extending therethrough when the inner cutter blade assembly is reci- procated, and cutter drive mechanism carried by the motor shaft and comprising eccentric means detachably connected to the inner cutter blade assembly and operable when the motor is operated to rotate the drive shaft to cause the inner cutter blade assembly to be reciprocated.

2. An electric shaver according to claim 1 wherein the eccentric means comprises an eccentrically-positioned pin extending upwardly from the upper end of the motor shaft into a transverselyextending slot in the inner cutter blade assembly.

3. An electric motor according to either one of the preceding claims including a collar surrounding the motor shaft, and resilient means acting between the front end of the motor and the collar to urge the collar against the inner cutter blade assembly and thereby resiliently urge the cutter blades against the interior of the foil.

4. An electric shaver according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the housing has walls extending forwardly from and engaging the front end of the motor to resist ingressive hair into the motor, battery and contact area of the housing.

5. An electric motor according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the outer shaving foil and head assembly comprises an elongated metal shaving foil of arcuate section secured along its lower edges to a shaving head.

6. An electric shaver according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the inner cutter blade assembly comprises an arcuate cutter blade secured along its lower edges to a holder, the cutter blade having a multitude of slots in the arcuate shape forming a row of transverse cutting edges.

7. An electric shaver according to claim 1 or any one of claims 3 to 6 wherein the eccentric means comprises a cam at the upper end of the motor shaft located between and engaging a pair of arms extending downwardly from the inner cutter blade assembly on opposite sides of the cam and extending transversely to the path of reciprocation, the motor shaft also having a concentric pin projecting into a slot in the inner cutter blade assembly which extends in the direction of the path of reciprocation.

8. An electric shaver substantially as described with reference to and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9. An electric shaver comprising a housing containing an electric motor and defining location for a battery power source for connection thereto through an on-off switch, an outer shaving foil and head assembly comprising a body detachably secured to the housing and a foil carried by the body and having a plurality of apertures through which the hair to be shaved can pass, a reciprocable inner cutter blade assembly located within the body, said inner cutter blade assembly having cutter blades extending transversely to the path of reciprocation and resiliently urged against the interior of the foil to cut hair extending therethrough when the inner cutter blade assembly is reciprocated, and cutter drive mechanism carried by the motor and comprising eccentric means connected to the inner cutter blade assembly and operable when the motor is operated to cause the inner cutter blade assembly to be reciprocated.